IRC

Connect Comis to IRC with step-by-step setup

Connect your Comis agent to IRC servers and channels. IRC is the simplest adapter — just point it at a server and join channels. Supports TLS encryption, NickServ authentication, and nick-based mentions. No file attachments and no Markdown/HTML formatting (only IRC control codes for bold and color).

You don’t need to understand the technical details to use this feature. The configuration examples below are copy-paste ready.

Prerequisites

• Comis installed and running (Quickstart)

• An IRC server to connect to (e.g., irc.libera.chat, irc.oftc.net)
• (Optional) A registered nickname on the server

IRC has a 512-character message limit per line. Long agent responses are automatically split across multiple messages with flood protection delays between them.

Setup

1. Choose your IRC server

   Pick the IRC server you want your bot to join. Popular options:

   • Libera.Chat — irc.libera.chat (port 6697 with TLS)
   • OFTC — irc.oftc.net (port 6697 with TLS)
   • Your own server — use whatever hostname and port it runs on

   If you want the bot to use a registered nickname, register it first with NickServ on the server:

   /msg NickServ REGISTER yourpassword [e-mail]
   
2. Configure Comis

   Add the IRC channel to your Comis configuration file (~/.comis/config.yaml):

   channels:
     irc:
       enabled: true
       host: "irc.libera.chat"
       port: 6697
       nick: "comis-bot"
       tls: true
       channels:
         - "#my-channel"
       nickservPassword: "${IRC_NICKSERV_PASSWORD}"
   

   If you registered a nickname, set the password in your ~/.comis/.env file:

   IRC_NICKSERV_PASSWORD=your-nickserv-password
   

   Never store API keys, tokens, or passwords directly in config.yaml. Use the .env file or Secret Manager for credential management.

3. Restart and verify

   Restart the Comis daemon to pick up the new configuration:

   comis daemon stop && comis daemon start
   

   Check the logs for a successful connection:

   comis daemon logs
   

   Look for “IRC adapter started” or “channel-irc activated”.

   Join the configured channel on your IRC client and send a message mentioning the bot’s nick (e.g., comis-bot hello!) to confirm it responds.

Configuration

These options go under channels.irc in your config.yaml:

Option	Type	Default	What it does
enabled	boolean	false	Turns on the IRC adapter
host	string	(required)	IRC server hostname (e.g., irc.libera.chat)
port	number	6697	IRC server port. Use 6697 for TLS, 6667 for plaintext.
nick	string	(required)	The bot’s nickname on the IRC server
tls	boolean	true	Use TLS encryption for the connection
channels	string[]	[]	Channels to auto-join on connect (e.g., ["#my-channel"])
nickservPassword	string / SecretRef	(optional)	NickServ password for identifying with a registered nick
allowFrom	string[]	[] (all)	Restrict to specific IRC nicknames. Empty means all users can talk to the bot.

What your agent can do

Once connected to IRC, your agent can:

• Send and receive messages in channels and direct messages (PRIVMSG)
• Respond when mentioned by nick (for example, comis-bot what time is it?)
• Format with IRC control codes (bold, italic, color, strikethrough)
• Join, leave (part), and set channel topics via platform actions

IRC does not support reactions, editing or deleting sent messages, fetching message history, file attachments, threads, typing indicators, buttons, cards or embeds, streaming (live-updating responses), or native polls.

Platform limits

Limit	Value	What Comis does about it
Message length	512 characters	Automatically splits every response into multiple lines with a 500 ms flood-protection delay between lines
Attachment size	N/A	IRC does not support file attachments. The bot sends text only.
Message IDs	None	IRC has no message IDs; Comis returns a synthetic "sent" identifier so reply-to chaining still works.

Troubleshooting

Connection refused

What happened: The IRC client cannot reach the server at the configured host and port.

How to fix it: Check the host and port in your config. If using TLS (the default), make sure the port is the TLS port (usually 6697) and tls: true is set. For plaintext connections, use port 6667 and set tls: false. Also verify that your firewall allows outgoing connections on the configured port.

Nick already in use

What happened: Another user or bot is already using the nickname you configured.

How to fix it: Choose a different nick in your config, or register the nickname with NickServ on the server first and then set the nickservPassword so the bot can reclaim it. Some servers support the REGAIN command: /msg NickServ REGAIN yournick yourpassword.

Bot joins channel but does not respond

What happened: The bot is connected to the server and present in the channel, but ignores messages.

How to fix it: IRC bots typically respond to messages that mention their nick or to direct (private) messages. Try addressing the bot by name: comis-bot hello. Also check the allowFrom setting — if it contains specific nicks, only those users can trigger the bot.

Delivery Infrastructure

How streaming, typing indicators, and retry logic work under the hood.

Multiple users & teams

Run one install for a whole team - private per person, isolated per agent.

All Channels

Compare all 9 supported platforms side by side.

Agent Configuration

Set up your agent’s personality, tools, and behavior.

Secret Management

Learn how to manage API keys and tokens securely.